NONTHABURI, Thailand – Death toll from the Debsirin school shooting rises to nine as a 12-year-old girl dies in hospital. Families collect bodies one day after the rampage.
The Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police Hospital in Bangkok handed over the bodies in individual coffins to relatives after autopsies. Volunteers from the Poh Teck Tung foundation handled transport. While families moved the dead to their home provinces for burial, the victim count climbed: a 12-year-old student who was critically wounded Friday at Phra Nang Klao Hospital died from her injuries. That makes nine dead from the attack.
Five school staff, two grandparents, the shooter – and now a child
Among the dead are five school employees: deputy administrative director Kittiphong Somrat and teachers Tiwaporn Wanich, Praphaporn Konesila, Saifon Sirikitchakajorn and Nanchanattaphon Nakkhlang. Also killed are the shooter’s grandparents, whom police say the 14-year-old murdered at their home in Bang Bua Thong district before the school attack. The teenager then shot himself after the rampage.
The boy brought a gun registered to his grandfather to school around 10am Friday. He was carrying more than 30 rounds when he died. Police said the boy had lived with his grandparents since childhood after his parents separated early. Investigators are probing ongoing bullying as a possible motive: classmates told police the teenager was regularly bullied and physically harassed by peers, with no teachers stepping in.
Bullying victim planned to target classmates who mocked him
Police believe the shooter initially wanted to target the classmates who had humiliated him. But those students had been moved out of the classroom before the attack. The official investigation result is still pending.
The Ministry of Health reported Saturday that 16 people remain hospitalised, seven in critical condition. Most of the injured are aged 12 to 14. The school will stay closed from August 10 to 14, with teachers working from home.
PM announces end to gun permits
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul called the attack premeditated and said the student was under extreme pressure. He announced that the government will no longer renew permits to carry and possess firearms. Debsirin Nonthaburi is one of Thailand’s most famous boys’ schools, with 11 branches nationwide.
The shooting is the worst school massacre in Thailand since the Nong Bua Lamphu daycare attack in October 2022, when a 34-year-old ex-police officer killed 37 people, including 24 children.